Diario de anudibranchmom

"Just hit" - how ironic, and what a grim milestone. Over half of them were observed by @merav - a herculean effort. Thank you everyone for your continued dedication towards making things better for the newts (and many other species) in our county.

Walked from Aldercroft Road to the stop sign.
Time: 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Weather: Sunny, temp not recorded
Observer: Robin Agarwal

Newts: 55 dead, including 2 juveniles. None fresh. No live newts.

The recent warm daytime temps and cool nights brought out a menagerie of creatures onto the road, probably at night, probably seeking the retained warmth of the asphalt or invert prey. There were 18 non-newt species recorded:
1 small California Kingsnake (9") - beautiful, very fresh, first thing I saw when I got out of the car
1 Santa Cruz Aquatic Garter Snake - neatly marked with a fox poop already
3 Western Toads - one was gigantic
1 Sierran Tree Frog
3 AOR Wild Turkeys
3 Scorpions, possibly of two species
1 Ornate Tiger Moth, so pretty
1 Banana Slug
Crickets, Millipedes, caterpillars
1 Largemouth Bass DOR (Ha! A Newt Patrol first. Not roadkill, of course, but funny.)

There was a large Gopher Snake DOR on Aldercroft, so I pulled over and recorded that as well, although it is not added to our project.

Human Activity: 22 cars, no trucks, no construction. One nice conversation with a Soda Springs Road resident, Danny, who asked about our project and said he moves live newts off the road regularly (perhaps a secret softie, since he also had an NRA sticker on his pickup).
:-)

The South Section - April 14, 2022
Walked from Aldercroft Road to the stop sign.
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Weather: Cloudy, temp not recorded
Observers: Robin Agarwal, Merav Vonshak

Newts: 31, mostly dried. No live newts.

Non-newt species:
1 Wild Turkey AOR
2 Western Fence Lizards
1 Arboreal Salamander
1 California Slender Salamander
2 Cicadas
Crickets, Millipedes, caterpillars

(And a DOR Broad-footed Mole was recorded on Aldercroft Heights Road: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/111472328 )

Human Activity: 12 cars, 3 trucks, 3 bikes, no construction. One nice conversation with a fisherman, who knew about our project and said he noticed newts in the reservoir.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022, 8:00-10:30 AM
Weather: Mid-50s, light rain two days prior.
Coverage: Aldercroft road to stop sign.
Observers: Robin and Merav

Newts: Robin: 21 adults, 1 juvenile (Merav #s to be added later)

Non-newts: 1 Broad-footed Mole, 1 ring-necked Snake, 1 Arboreal Salamander, 1 Sierran Tree Frog, 2 Western Fence Lizards, a few inverts

Traffic: 17 cars, 4 trucks, 3 bicycles. No pedestrians or conversations with locals about newts.